Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-21
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
The plans below show a harbour in 2000 and how it looks today.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
The diagram illustrate how Porth harbour looked in 2000 and how it appears today.
Overall, there have been significant changes to Porth harbour, including the addition of new facilities and the conversion of several existing areas. The fishing boat area has been replaced with marina (private yachts), while disused Castle has been converted into a hotel. In addition, the public beach become a private beach for hotel guest.
In the northwest side of the harbour, a second passenger ferry dock has been added, whereas there was only one passenger dock in 2000. Serveral commercial facilities have also been introduced. Cafe's and Shops have been built near lifeboat area. The showers and toilets area have been added near the car park and The beach area, which was previously open to the public, has also been turned into a private beach for hotel guests.
In conclusion, there has been major development in Porth Harbour in 2000, with several new facilities and changes to existing area.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student addresses the main task by highlighting key changes between the two maps, such as the conversion of the castle into a hotel, the shifting of the marina and fishing boats, and the addition of commercial facilities. However, there are some inaccuracies and omissions in the reporting of specific features. For example, the student states that the fishing boat area was replaced with a marina, whereas the two simply swapped locations on the maps. Additionally, the overview contains a slightly confused expression: "there has been major development in Porth Harbour in 2000", whereas the development occurred between 2000 and the present day. Despite these minor limitations, the main trends and comparisons are generally covered, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into four logical paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, body details, and a brief concluding sentence. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well to guide the reader through the comparisons (e.g., "Overall", "In addition", "In the northwest side"). However, paragraphing could be improved by integrating the short conclusion into the final body paragraph, as a separate one-sentence conclusion is unnecessary and repetitive for Task 1. Referencing is mostly clear, though occasional mechanical transitions keep the score at Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing changes, using words like "significant changes", "conversion", and "facilities". However, there are several lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as "The diagram illustrate" (subject-verb agreement), "public beach become" (tense error), "Cafe's and Shops" (unnecessary apostrophe and capitalization), and "Serveral" (spelling mistake). While the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main points, these persistent errors prevent the response from reaching a higher band score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses ("which was previously open to the public") and prepositional phrases for location. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are basic errors such as "The diagram illustrate" instead of "illustrates", tense inconsistencies like "the public beach become", and incorrect article use ("for hotel guest" instead of "for hotel guests"). Although these errors do not severely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to typify the Band 6 descriptor.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.